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Lawsuit Successfully Increases Fla. Minimum Wage

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami.com) – The state of Florida will have to increase the state’s minimum wage to $7.31 on June 1 after a judge in Leon County found the state miscalculated the rate.

A lawsuit was filed because workers claimed the state violated the state constitution by keeping minimum wage at the $7.25 federal rate, which is the same as it was last year.

But, voters had passed a constitutional amendment in 2004 that set a state minimum wage that would increase with inflation, which the judge found the state didn’t do when setting the rate.

The new rate will be $7.31 instead of $7.25. The decision will impact around 188,000 workers and those that work 40-hour work weeks will earn an additional $128 annually.

Governor Rick Scott opposed the decision, but will not appeal the case.

“Florida’s rate can never go down and it’s pegged to inflation, so over time it will make Florida’s rate substantially higher than the federal rate,” Burgess said. “In the long run it will make Florida very uncompetitive.”